I do no sparge whenever possible. I only have a mash tun and a boil kettle. It makes it nice and easy. Mash with full volume and run into boil kettle. Shorter brew day and less transfer in and out of buckets.

I haven't really noticed much of a drop in efficiency. In fact, the thin mash makes it really easy to detect and avoid dough balls. Some people who don't stir enough might even get a efficiency bump!

Most of the talk has been about maintaining efficiency (despite the change in method) and the saved time, rather than the view, whether real or perceived, that there is an improvement in malt flavour through this method.

What are your thoughts and experiences with this aspect of no sparge?

My thoughts are that this would be the very best reason, hands-down, for using it - if there is evidence to back up it up.

I have not noticed a change in the malt profile at all doing this. But I do have a bottle from before I was doing this that I could compare with a bottle no sparged. I have to wonder though how time has affected it and if that is what I would be tasting

I've done a couple no-sparge batches and I agree that it definitely yields a richer malt character. I didn't do it because I wanted to save time, but because I wanted to see if it made a difference in the quality of the wort. My results were so exciting that I started looking into a much larger mash tun so I can easily do full 5-10 gallon batches using this method. (My ten-gallon cooler was full to the brim and I got 4.75 gallons in the fermentor.)

As far as brewhouse efficiency, on my last no-sparge I got 78%, which is 5 points higher than my typical batch sparging method. Granted, my fermentor volume was low at 4.75 gallons for an OG of 1.067. But the same efficiency could have also yielded a 1.057 beer at 5.5 gallons, which is actually more in line with my recipe!

My last few batches (an extra stout, a mild, and a dubbel) were all no sparge. It seemed like the malt flavors jumped out more clearly in the finished beers, especially the stout. I have made the stout and the mild recipes prevously. I got 65% efficiency on all three with no sparge. I typically get 70-75% with a sparge.

So a few questions. First is should I or should I not bump up all grains by, say, 10%. Also let's say my recipe calls for 10lbs grain. Normally I use 1.5qt/gal mash so I would initially add 3.75 gallons water expecting to draw about 2.25 gallons on the first draw. So if I want a boil measurement of 6.5 to finish with 5.25 I would simply use 8 gallons of water all at once at the given mash temp, say 152, for an hour then stir it up real good and drain to boil kettle to begin boil?

So a few questions. First is should I or should I not bump up all grains by, say, 10%. Also let's say my recipe calls for 10lbs grain. Normally I use 1.5qt/gal mash so I would initially add 3.75 gallons water expecting to draw about 2.25 gallons on the first draw. So if I want a boil measurement of 6.5 to finish with 5.25 I would simply use 8 gallons of water all at once at the given mash temp, say 152, for an hour then stir it up real good and drain to boil kettle to begin boil?

Yes, I would bump at least the base grain by 10% to start, since most people seem to have a bit lower efficiency. You would not use your typical mash thickness ratio. You would add all the water you need for your brew in the first addition. On my last no-sparge, this ended up being 2.67 qts/lb.

To see how it works, use this: http://www.brew365.com/mash_sparge_water_calculator.php
Keeping all the default values, start increasing the Mash Thickness value for a thinner mash, and see how it drops your Sparge Water Needed value. When it gets to zero, that's the thickness you'd need for a no-sparge. Now change all the other values according to your recipe and do the same thing. But keep in mind, if it says you need say 9 gallons of water, make sure that will fit in your tun along with the grains. Go here: http://www.rackers.org/calcs.shtml And use Can I Mash It? If you can't then, you'll need to lower your end volume, or get a bigger tun.

Personally, I have been getting in the 80's with the BIAB technique.. I mash in at 2qpp, stir the living crap out of it..let er sit for 30mins then add the remaining water needed to bring the total volume up to around 165 Stir the crap out of it again then pull the bag, Set it in a collender to drain, squeeze out then start the boil.. I never got better than low 70's with my all grain setup.